(a) Unless a specialized laboratory is designated by the State Seed and Plant Board in agreement with the Seed Quality Program, to do the testing of a specific seed commodity, the laboratory test must be made by one of the department's seed laboratories, the official state seed laboratory of another state or a registered seed technologist in good standing with the Society of Commercial Seed Technologists. In addition to the sample submitted to a laboratory for analysis, a file sample shall be submitted to the Seed Quality Program, which may be used for determining other varieties and/or off type plants. File samples of seed lots submitted for certification must be drawn in the manner recommended by the Association of Official Seed Analysts, and at least the size shown in §10.14 of this title (relating to Minimum Amount of Seed Required for Laboratory Analysis). For industrial hemp, the file sample size shall be set by the certifying agency. Each sample must be identified with the following information: name and address of applicant, kind and variety of seed, seed class eligibility, year of production, final lot number, and seed treatment substance.     
      (b) The rules for testing seed as adopted by the Association of Official Seed Analysts are hereby adopted as the procedure to be followed in the testing of seed subject to certification. However, when no rules for testing have been adopted by the Association of Official Seed Analysts, the procedure used must be mutually approved by the State Seed and Plant Board and the Seed Quality Program. The results of such tests shall be the basis for the enforcement of the provisions of this act for all classes of seed recognized.     
      (c) The State Seed and Plant Board has full authority to question the procedure used by laboratories or technologists for testing eligible seed. Failure to follow the correct testing procedure shall be cause for the board to consider all tests made by the laboratory and/or technologist as no longer being acceptable in meeting certification requirements.     
      (d) In order to allow the seedsmen to bag and label in one operation, the certification labels for seed from a field or from blended fields may be issued upon receipt of the inspector's completed report showing all seed involved to have passed the field production standards, even though the laboratory test has not been completed and in case of hybrid sorghum seed, sorghum line seed, hybrid sunflower seed, and sunflower line seed, the required varietal purity grow-out test has not been completed. In all cases, a copy of the laboratory test from each lot represented which is identifiable with the certification labels issued must be furnished the Seed Quality Program prior to distribution of the seed. However, the applicant must furnish the Seed Quality Program a copy of the laboratory test not later than July 31 of each year for the previous year's production unless an extension in writing is requested for a good and valid reason.     
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §10.9 adopted to be effective September 2, 1996, 21 TexReg 7955; amended to be effective June 4, 2020, 45 TexReg 3618